


Thor: Ragnerok

by AGameForWolves



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Asgard, F/M, Gen, Helheimr | Hel (Realm), Loki Feels, Marvel - Freeform, Marvel Universe, Muspelheim, Post-Avengers Asgard, Post-Thor: The Dark World, Svartálfaheimr | Svartalfheim, Thor Feels, Thor Odinson - Freeform, Thor: Ragnerok, Thor: The Dark World, Vanaheimr | Vanaheim, loki laufeyson - Freeform, Álfheimr | Alfheim, Ásgarðr | Asgard (realm)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-28
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-02-06 14:44:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1861740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AGameForWolves/pseuds/AGameForWolves
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The war between The Dark Elves and Asgard are over and the realms finally at peace. But for how long? The Allfather is found dead and a mysterious character from Thor`s past shows up and warns about newcoming darkness. Every living thing must fight for their own survival. The final confrontation between an old enemy is near.<br/>It`s hard to trust betrayers. Thor must find out which part he is going to play in this game, and who to trust. In the end he has to face magic, Infinity Stones and the betrayal of his brother. It`s a legend which has been fortold for long time. Many tales has been told about the final day. The destiny of the gods. Doomsday. Ragnerok.<br/>(may take a little while before getting started, but I hope its worth it)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfic is probably going to be long. It`s mostly made up from my own imagination. I`ve been making this story up in my mind for a long time now, and for some reason I`ve choosen to share it. Just for fun ;)
> 
> I hope you enjoy :) oh and by the way im sorry if I screw up the gramma or something. I`m not from an English talking country so thats why ;))  
> I would be amazingly grateful if anyone left comments on what they like or dislike!

The golden walls of Asgard reflected the sharp light from the sun and made the majestic palace look even more impregnable and magical. The sun shone from a bright sky and normally you would hear the laughter of children playing in the gardens or the servants doing their chores. But everything was quiet, deadly quiet. In the afternoon every citizen in Asgard would assemble in the throne room. A war against the dark elves had just ended, but the war and slaughter had left it`s clear mark on Asgard as well as on its citizens. The throne room almost looked as it had done in thousands of years, only a few scratches remained after the repairing, but not all wounds can be healed with concrete.  
Jane found Thor starring out of the window in the chamber they shared. “It`s time to go Thor” she said carefully. Thor slowly turned around and a small smile lit up his face for a few seconds, when he saw the concern in Jane`s eyes, but it was not nearly enough to hide the grief in his eyes. “You`re right” he answered and walked slowly towards her, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Let`s go” Thor said before taking Jane`s hand and walk down the corridor leading to the throne room.  
Today the funeral of the Allfather would take place. Thousands of citizens from the realms were gathered to honour the fallen king. The Vanirs, people of Vanaheim known as great soldiers, magnificent sorcerers and wise seers, were the first people to enter the throne room, through the huge golden doors. Horun was from Vanaheim, but he was not a part of the long stream of people now entering the room. He had returned to Asgard as soon as he heard of the Allfather`s death. Now he was standing beside Fandral, Volstagg and Sif on the stairs leading up to the throne on Thor`s right side. On his left side, a couple of steps below him stood Jane. The Vanirs walked through the golden doors at the end of the hall. Ahead of the huge group of Vanirs walked 3 persons, 2 men and a woman. The 2 men looked very much alike and Jane assumed they were brothers. The one brother, who seemed the oldest, had long hair, which was bound together and hanging down his back. He was tall and his well-trained muscles made him look huge. He had a black, short beard. The younger brother was smaller built, but had this cheeky glimpse in his eyes. He had long hair too, but his was collected in a bun, with two small braids starting at his temples and ending at the back of his head. He had no beard. Both brothers had black hair and light brown skin, the typical Vanir. The two brothers shared many similarities with Hogun.   
The woman in walking besides the two brothers, was just as different from them as they were alike each other. She had long, curly, almost white hair and loving, light blue eyes. She was very beautiful and her wide, truthful smile lit up the entire throne room. The brothers wore armour from Vanaheim, easy recognizable because of the mix between leather, fur and metal. The woman wore a long light blue gown, a couple of shades darker than her eyes. All three of them stopped before the steps leading to the throne and sunk down on one knee, with their right hand on the chest, the woman bowed down in an elegant manner. “You can raise, Sveigor Kylanson, Vanlandi Kylanson and Yeelah of Vanaheim. The oldest brother, who Thor had just addressed as Sveigor, was standing leftmost. The younger brother called Vanlandi was standing in the middle and Yeelah at the right.  
“We are very honoured to tread these golden floors of yours my Prince” Vanlandi started, his smile was serious, but you could see the amusement in his dark eyes. It looked like he tried not to let the corners of his mouth curl too much upwards, but the downtrodden laughter shaped his face in a comic expression.   
Yeelah, who seemed to know him far too well, took over: “We bring gifts in form of new predictions and herb medicine, we hope it will prove useful to everyone here in Asgard”. Her voice was caring and her eyes smiled just as much as her mouth. “On behalf of all of Asgard I thank you” Thor answered. Sveigor didn’t say anything, but Thor knew him, he wasn’t much of a talker.   
“Asgard welcomes you as always. Kylan was a friend of the Allfather as of me”. All 3 bowed once more before leaving through a wide side corridor, together with the large group of Vanirs following them.  
Thor`s duty was to stand in front of the golden throne, which once belonged to his father, and welcome the guests coming from far away. Asgard only guest citizens from Vanaheim, Alfheim and Nidavellir. The fire demons from Muspelheim, the Dark elves from Svartalfheim and the Frost Giants from Jotunheim were still sworn enemies of Asgard. Earth is a special realm, but out of the unity.


	2. New Arrivals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the chapters are short ... I will try to make them longer ;D

The next stream of people walking through the metal doors was the Dwarfs of Nidavellir. They were known as the best smiths of the nine realms. Odin`s spear Gungnir was forged in the deep mountain caves of Nidavellir, and even the metal used to forge Thor`s hammer Mjolnir, came from the very mines of the Gundrun mountains in the Realm of the Dwarfs. The Nidarvellirs were excellent blacksmiths. At first sight, the dwarfs looked like Midgardians, but as they came closer, Jane could see that they were smaller and stouter. Despite the small differences, the dwarfs looked almost like Midgardians.  
The leader of the dwarfs, called Eitri, walked in front of the group. He placed his right fist over his heart and knelt onto one knee. The long auburn beard and his brown clothing, mostly made of skins and leather, was a sharp contrast to all the gold in Asgard. He was tall for a dwarf, with big hands, a boisterous appearance and a laughter, which resounded in all the halls of Asgard, when he paid visit. “It’s a huge honour to tread these majestic halls of Asgard my prince” he bowed his head in respect. Thor chuckled and said: “Arise Eitri Blorrson, and know that you and your people will always be welcome here in Asgard”. Eitri arose and let out a small laughter in honour of his unnecessary and deep statement. He and Thor had always been great friends. They played together as children, when Odin visited Nidavellir together with his two sons. “And know I want to present a small and humble gift … from the royal smiths of Nidavellir, to the mortal beauty of Asgard” Eitri continued and winked at Jane. He spread his arms and bowed deeply, which caused Jane to smile and blush a little. She looked to Thor and for the first time in many days, he seemed to enjoy himself. One of Eitri`s servants stepped out from the rows of people, gathered in the middle of the Asgardian audience at both sides, with a chest. She brought the chest to Eitri, who opened it with a confident smile on his face. A beautiful golden necklace was placed in the chest. Curvy separate waves of gold started at the closing mechanism, which should be placed at the back of the neck, and entwined around an oval, deep green, sparkling stone at the front. Jane was speechless. “Wow … uh … it`s very beautiful, I couldn’t possibly …” But Eitri stopped her by waving his hand at her. “It`s a gift from the people of Nidavellir” he said, without trying to hide the content look on his face from her reaction. Jane`s chambermaid, Signy, who stood behind Jane, walked down the stairs and offered to take the chest. Eitri gave her the chest and watched as Signy placed the necklace around Jane`s neck. The green stone matched her eyes. Thor sent her a big, reassuring smile. “Thank you it`s … truly beautiful” Jane said an let her fingers follow the curves of the cold metal. “It`s an honour to be back in these golden halls of yours my prince” Eitri said and placed his fist over his heart once again. “As I said, you and your people are always welcome” Thor answered. Eitri bowed his head, just before he retired, together with the long line of people waiting behind him.

It was a long time since the Elves of Alfheim had visited Asgard. So when The Light Elves began their walk down the floor, by entering the golden doors, they received many admiring glances from the Asgardian audience. In the front walked the elven king Rìthrariòn and his queen Alvahild, behind them many rows of some of the king`s best fighters. Their richly decorated, silver armour was an unusual contrast to the golden walls of Asgard. Like the dwarfs, only few differences separated them from the look of an Asgardian or Midgardians. The long hair and the pointy ears was some of them. But the Elves were known as pure creatures of nature and mostly they kept themselves in Alfheim.


	3. An Old Friend

Rìthrariòn and Alvahild stopped a few steps from the golden stairs, leading to the throne. The elf King bowed his head and tilted it a little to the side, as a sign of respect. Every realm had its own respect showing statement when visiting Asgard. “Asgard welcome you Rìthrariòn, son of Sùrion and King of The Light Elves, Alvahild, Queen of The Light Elves, and all of your people” Thor said. The elf King had pitch black hair and ice blue, almost white eyes. He was wearing a long rope, which was richly decorated with embroideries made of silver. He had a modest silver crown. The metal was formed as thin branches and leaves. The Queen of Alfheim looked completely different from her husband. She had light red hair, almost orange. She was wearing a gown with embroideries very similar to the king`s rope. Her gown was green and very conspicuous beside the light grey rope of the King. The eyes were one of the only similarities, beside the pointy ears. “I thank you my prince” Rìthrariòn responded. His voice was calm and never too high. The whole appearance of the Elven King testified wisdom, but you could never truly know what was going on in his mind. Both elves were tall and lean. Their skin were pale and with no sign of age. “We bring gifts in form of knowledge” Alvahild continued “our healers and magicians have some new methods, which can prove useful”. Alvahild`s voice was calm as her husband`s, but with more warmth. “We will look forward to a demonstration, your healers and magicians has always been known as ones of the bests” Thor said, and the quick little glance he gave Jane, caught the Elven King`s attention. He looked right at her, with an unreadable look upon his face, but with a little smile lightly in the corners of his mouth. Jane felt like he stared right into her mind. Both elves bowed their heads in the same way as earlier, before leaving the throne room. Thor turned around to grab Gungnir, which was placed beside the throne and the guards started to close the huge golden doors. But both stopped as the unexpected sound of feathery wings filled the air. The throne room became deadly quiet and everybody was made speechless from the sight of the figures, which were now entering the room. Along the marble floor, two giant black panthers were running, and 5 persons were flying towards the throne in the formation of a V. Halfway to the throne they landed lightly on the floor and continued by foot. Their white, feathery wings reached almost to the ground when folded behind their backs. As they came closer, Jane noticed that they were all women wearing, what seemed like, heavy, golden armour. The woman walking in the front seemed young and as she came closer, Jane thought to herself, that she could only be about 18 or 19 years old, if counting by the age of Midgardians. Jane looked upon Thor, who had an utterly surprised, but yet recognizable look on his face. Jane looked to the other side of the throne, only to see the directly shocked faces of Sif and The Warriors Three. The women stopped when they had almost reached the throne, just like the previous visitors. The cats were standing on each side of the small gathering on the huge floor. Thor was the first to break the crushing silence: “Freya?”


	4. A Living Legend

“Thor, it`s been a long time” Freya responded with a little, barely noticeably smile. Everybody in the Asgardian audience looked at each other with confused and chocked faces; this was the last anyone had ever expected. The sight of the 5 women and the 2 giant cats were enough to make an audience that size quiet, but Jane had a feeling of a history behind. Whatever Freya came to Asgard for now, it was certainly not expected. Jane took a closer look at the young Goddess in front of her. Her hair was blonde, yet brown at the roots and braided into a long, complicated braid resting over her left shoulder, covering her collarbone and ending a little further down, at the start of her stomach. A few locks of hair were not included in the braiding and were hanging lose on each side of her head, framing her face with curvy locks. Her hair was not directly curly more curvy, as waves of gold on Jane`s necklace. She wore a dark brown shirt with long sleeves and a wide neck under her golden armour. Jane noticed the piece of armour around her waist, which reached up to her chest and covered her hips as well, reminded her of the one Sif always wore. This one was golden though, and with 2 noticeable lines of gold each starting on one side of her hips, later to form a cross on her stomach and searching farer up to curl around the forms of her breasts. The 2 lines were almost similar to the small sickles used in hand to harvest crops. For protection in combat, she wore shoulder plates, 3 plates, one after another covering one shoulder, and 3 similar to the others, with carvings of two wings on each of them, covering the other shoulder. Her lower legs were adorned with plates with different carvings. Her pants were dark brown, almost black as the shirt, but the boots reaching higher than the ankles were a more light brown. And at last the plates on her lower arm, stopping at the wrist to give space to the dark coloured gloves, which only covered her palms and the back of her hands, leaving the fingers free to use. But one special thing caught Jane`s attention. The necklace Freya was wearing. Jane had read the book Eric once gave her. In that exact book, was a tale about Freya`s necklace Brisingamen. Maybe it wasn’t true, but the yellow, orange and glittering stone in centre and the gold thread around it, starting at the bottom of the oval stone like roots from a tree, later to be entangled as the trunk and again spread out as the branches, seemed almost magical.  
“Indeed it has” Thor`s words brought Jane back to reality. “It is not every day you pay Asgard a visit, so excuse us, if we didn’t expect you today” Thor was clearly beyond surprised, but he seemed very happy indeed to see the unannounced guest. “That’s my own fault,” Freya said calmly “I am sorry I did not send word of my arrival, but your father was an ally of mine and, together with the rest of the royal family, a friend. I am here to show my last respect of his rule”. “No apology needed and thank you for coming, you shall as always be welcome in Asgard” Thor replied with a smile. Freya placed her right fist on the left side of her chest, but as Jane noticed she did not bow, before leaving the room together with the 4 other winged warriors. A rush went through the audience as soon as the 2 huge cats headed towards Freya to walk on each side of her, their backs reaching to her hips.

Most of the audience were still looking in the direction where Freya had vanished down the long corridor, when Thor finally grabbed Gungnir and declared the meeting to an end by pounding the end of the golden spear in the ground for it to resound in all of Asgard.   
Jane followed Thor down the corridor leading to the garden. “Thor wait … I don’t understand … who was she exactly?” Jane asked confused. Thor stopped and turned around with a smile on his face. "She is an old friend of mine” he answered. He continued while they kept walking down the corridor together: “When I was just a boy, Father let me and Loki visit Freya in her home called Folkvangr. Her home lies outside our 9 realms, in another universe. She rules 4 realms beside Folkvangr herself.” “Wow … why didn’t you tell me about this before … that’s amazing?” Thor chuckled at her immediate interest. “I didn’t thought it important, besides most people here in Asgard see her more as a legend than an actual God. I don’t know when she last visited Asgard, but it was neither in my lifetime or my father’s, or his father before him. But if you have more questions I’m sure you can ask her yourself, she may not seem like it, but she can be a gentle soul at times” Thor said with a smile on his face. “I don’t understand … I mean she can`t possibly be that old.” Jane said even more confused. Thor turned around facing Jane with a face just as confused as hers, but then it softened and he laughed. “I forgot it was the first time you ever seen or heard of her. She is older than you can imagine, she`s just ageing slowly, very slowly. She doesn’t look any different from the last time I saw her.” “Wow that’s incredible! But how is that possible?” Jane sighted. “Indeed it is, she`s … extraordinary, and that I do not know, but I think you will like her” Thor agreed. Jane noticed the happy glance in Thor`s eyes when talking of Freya. “You certainly do” “Yes I do” Thor chuckled again, “I admired her, when visiting Folkvangr when I was a child. And I still do” Jane smiled, Thor had lit up since the guests arrived and was almost the good old Thor Jane loved so much. ”If you will excuse me Jane I have some errands before the evening.” He didn’t seem glad to leave her. “Yes of course no problem” Jane ensured. Thor kissed her forehead. “I’m glad you`re here” “Me too, see you later” Jane responded and smiled. She knew Thor and right now he wanted to be a bit alone with his thoughts, and she respected that.   
In the dark evening the boats were made ready. Just like the funeral of Queen Frigga, Odin was lying in a boat made out of wood with his sword in both hands. Every person, citizen or quest, were gathered and on a high podium, with the sea in front of him, stood Thor with Gungnir in his right hand and Jane standing at his left side. The gigantic audience were separated in the realms they came from, creating a half circle around their dead king. Jane watched Thor from behind. He was grieving deeply, his jaw was clenched and his shoulders tense. Then the boat was pushed out towards the huge waterfall, which marked the end of the line for the boat and the person lying in it. An Einherjar awaited Thor`s permission, Thor nodded lightly, his eyes staring into the ground. The Einherjar lit up the arrow, aimed and shot. The arrow hit the target and auburn flames burned in the hull. Now every person in the audience released a ball of light into the air to honour their slain King. The round torches were not silver as to the funeral of Frigga. This time golden, yellow lights decorated the sky like thousands of new-born shiny stars. Afterwards every person bowed their heads lightly in respect. When the boat reached the fall, Thor pounded Gungnir into the floor of the podium and by the well-known resounding; silver dust arose from the boat only to disappear moments later up in the sky.   
It`s been 2 days since the funeral and Jane hadn’t seen Thor since. The whole of Asgard had been almost deadly silent the day before, but now Jane passed many persons from different realms in the long corridors of Asgard. Jane had spent the night in her old chambers to let Thor be alone a little if he wanted to. The problem was that her old chambers were placed a good walk away from the throne room, where she hoped to find Thor. When she finally arrived in the now empty hall, there was no sign of him. “Do you know where to find Thor?” She asked of of the guards. “The Prince can be found in the training area milady” the guard answered. “Thanks, can you take me there?” the guard didn’t answer, he just started walking and Jane followed. She stayed in Asgard for about 2 months, but the palace was far too big for her to navigate precisely.


	5. The Valkyrian Way

Jane followed the guard through the long and huge corridors and halls of the palace. When Jane passed a smaller corridor to her left, she heard a voice calling. “Milady?” she quickly stopped and looked towards the sound. At first Jane didn’t recognize the person, but as she came closer Jane realised it was Freya. The only thing Jane could identify was the face of the Goddess. The high cheekbones, the small freckles and well-shaped mouth, which seemed to curl upwards just slightly, were forming a little smile. “Oh … Hey” Jane answered surprised. Freya looked nothing like she did just the other day. The wings, the armour and everything formally about her were gone. She had no wings, her hair was hanging loose, all of it thrown over her left shoulder just like the braid she wore at the welcoming ceremony, except for a few shorter locks hanging and curving down in the right side of her face. She was wearing the same dark cotton shirt with a wide neck almost reaching to the tip of her shoulders.   
Her trousers were about the same brown colour as the shirt, and with small pockets down each side of her legs. A black and wide leather belt with stitching made out of gold threat curved around her waist. Brisingamen was hanging from her neck in a string of leather. Her entire body testified gently confidence. The wide shoulders and hips made her seem bigger and her constantly straight spine made her a person to be respected, without ruining any femininity. She seemed like, she belonged here.  
“Are you heading towards the training area milady?” Freya asked in a light voice. “Yes … uhm I hoped to find Thor”   
“And I think you will” Freya responded and continued addressed to the guard. “I can escort Lady Jane from here” the guard bowed and walked away.  
“Competitions in fighting skills are a part of the gathering milady, I hope they won’t bore you” Freya continued in a light voice  
“Well I haven’t got the chance to see much, but I don’t think they will” Jane answered lightly, still a little shocked from the surprise. There was something about Freya. Jane couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but an aura of ancient mystique seemed to encircle the Queen. Her eyes were always watching everything around her with an unreadable facial expression. Jane felt that the Goddess could look right through her, but Freya was wearing a mask, which was impenetrable. Nothing more than a little smile in the corners of her mouth.  
They finally arrived in the training area, a quart yard with gravel for the fighting. Surrounded by decorated rails, which separated the audience from the contestants, the courtyard was quite big and had space for more than one fight at a time. Thor was standing beside on of the columns on the open corridors, which were meant for the standing audience. “Thor” Jane called immediately and he turned around a little surprised by seeing Freya and Jane together. He hugged Jane and kissed her forehead. She sighted a little, the palace seemed so huge and empty without it`s Prince. Thor let go of Jane and was just about to welcome Freya when shouting from the fighting area caught both of their attentions.   
A red haired young woman was shouting at an Asgardian General and Jane recognized her to be one of Freya’s companions. Jane followed Thor and Freya down the few steps before her shoes touched the gravel. As they came closer Jane noticed that all 4 women, who stood behind Freya at the welcoming ceremony, were present, but just as Freya no wings appeared on their backs. One of them, a woman with dark skin, eyes and hair was holding back the red haired woman, who seemed like she could explode every second. Her hair was as red as the fire burning in her eyes, and the wild curls were almost dancing around her head. She was absolutely furious. The guard she was shouting at was standing in front of his comrades with a mocking grin upon his lips.   
“Kara what in the 5 realms is going on here?” Freya asked the red haired woman in a demanding and strict tone. Kara, as the woman was called, hadn’t noticed Freya’s approach and she sent a last wild glance at the General before answering. “My Queen this man fought Eir and he cheated, he threw sand in her eyes” Kara calmed a little down but she spit out every word like it was poison in her mouth. The woman who held back Kara still had a solid grip in her upper arm.  
“It’s okay Trima, you may let go now” Freya said to the beautiful and exotic woman, who, before letting go, gave Kara a warning look. “I’m sorry but I am not aware of your name” Freya said to the General, who immediately hid his mocking face when he saw the Goddess. ”It`s Keenan Haldafson my Queen” he said while he bowed his head “I’m a General of the Royal Guard”. “I wish we could have met under different circumstances, but is it true what Kara tells me?” Freya was speaking calmly and she did not choose side.  
When Keenan finally spoke she listened closely. “No my Queen I did not cheat. Lady Eir I and did not settle the conditions and rules for the fight”. Kara snorted sneeringly. Freya immediately looked towards her with an angry look. “Quiet! Why is this of your concern anyway? I think Eir can take an argument herself if she wanted to” Freya motioned for Eir to step forward. She was a woman with the characteristics from Vanaheim with the black hair and small almond formed eyes. “My Queen it was foolish of me not to settle the conditions for the fight and it won’t happen again”. A small smile crept upon Keenan`s face and as soon as Kara noticed she sent him a deadly glance. “Kara in what way has this man wronged you? I know you well enough to know that such a reaction were triggered by something more” Freya continued with a slight irritation in her voice “we are here as quests and we should behave as such, without shouting at our hosts”.  
Kara seemed more shameful now and her gaze wandered between Eir and Freya. Finally she took a deep breath and said “he claimed the fight proved that no woman belonged on a battlefield”. Kara eyes were now glued to the ground, but she still had an angry wrinkle between her eyebrows. Freya`s face softened a little and she smiled one of her small mysterious smiles once again. “Of course” Freya let out a barely audible laugh and turned to look at Keenan. “I must say, you really hit a nerve”. “That I was not aware of my Queen” Keenan said and looked towards Kara with mocking eyes. Her jaw clenched. “Do you think so?” Freya quickly asked. Keenan, who wasn’t expecting such a direct question, cleared his throat and looked away a little confused. “It’s all right, every man have the right to his own beliefs,” Freya continued, awaiting an answer. Her face was unreadable and showed no emotion. Keenan cleared his throat once more before speaking, “no offense my Queen, but that is a belief of mine”. “That’s totally fine” now Freya smiled again “but surely you are aware of the injustice in judging every woman on the battlefield because of one fight”. Keenan looked even more confused but tried to pull himself together in front of his comrades. “Yes my Queen of course I`m awa…” “Good, do you mind proving it again?” Now Keenan knew what the conversation was leading to, and he immediately regained confidence. “No of course not my Queen” he responded and he was looking from the red haired Kara, to the dark Trima, afterwards to the long haired Eir and finally to another woman with short blonde hair and blue eyes, who stood behind the others and hadn’t said a word during the conversation. “Who am I to be fighting?” Keenan asked with a confident grin as if none of the warriors in front of him was any threat. Freya turned her head to the right to meet Kara`s eyes. As if a silent conversation just happened between them, Kara`s face lit up in a cruel smile. Freya returned her attention to the fit, confident and skilled warrior in front of her and answered: “You will be fighting me”.


	6. Queen or Common Soldier?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just found out that fighting is very hard to write xD  
> well I`ll do my best

Keenan immediately seemed surprised, but he tried to hide it the best that he could. “But my Queen …” he began, but Freya cut him off. “Surely the enemy on a battlefield does not care if you are a Queen or a common soldier, they will kill you anyway”.  
Keenan was aware of the tricky situation he had put himself in, and now other warriors stopped fighting to see what was going on. Freya turned to Thor, “is this acceptable my Prince?” Freya asked a little uncertain. Maybe she was Queen but she had no right to start a fight and she knew that. She was a guest just like anyone else and it wasn’t good manners to start a fight without the host`s approval.  
“Yes of course, as long as the rules are settled” Thor responded. Keenan couldn’t avoid the fight without losing respect from the other warriors and Generals around him so he accepted. “It will be an honour to fight you my Queen”.  
“Akmej ylayh côuz fìrende yùldenunenè”  
Kara let out and received several horrified and shocked faces from the other 3 of Freya`s warriors. Frey closed her eyes and sighted resignedly and looked at Kara once again.  
“Kara, remember where you are”.  
The rest of the gathering seemed confused so Jane presumed the language, in which the foreign warriors was speaking, was unknown, or at least uncommon. “What did she say?” Keenan asked and Freya took a deep breath. “Some words are not meant to be translated” she answered. The hard look from Keenan wasn’t enough to wipe off the grin on Kara`s face. “Very well” said Keenan before returning his attention to the Queen in front of him, “what are the rules my Queen?”  
“An object in each hand, besides that no rules, tricks and strength can be used until one of us surrenders” Freya answered; she didn’t look, or sound, like a Queen now. Now she was a soldier like anyone else.  
The audience looked at each other nervously. You could never know what these kind of fights lead to. The two contestants now parted to collect weapons and talk tactics with their friends.  
“Clear the yard!” Thor shouted and everybody began to walk up the few steps to stand behind the rails. Sif and The Warriors Three found Thor in the crowd of at least 50 persons from different realms. “I haven’t seen her fight yet” Sif said to Thor “do you know how good she is?” she seemed a little worried. “Keenan isn’t well known for being the most honourable fighter” Fandral said and according to the looks on Hogun`s and Volgstagg`s faces, they thought the same. Thor looked away quickly with a smile, before returning his attention to the 4 worried warriors in front of him. “It`s a long time since I last saw her fight …” Thor hesitated a little before answering: “You`ll be surprised” and with a little amused smile he followed Jane and found a spot at the rails.  
Vanlandi and his brother, who had both been practicing in the other side of the yard, now left it together with the others. “Oh this will be good!” Vanlandi proclaimed with a boyish grin. His more serious brother nodded a little, while looking at the two contestants. “It will be interesting indeed” Sveigor said in a deep voice. Yeelah was nowhere to be seen. Jane noticed that both the elven King and Queen was standing at the rails opposite. Both with interested looks on their faces. None of them wore armour so Jane assumed they were only audience.  
The yard was surrounded by an audience from 5 different realms and everybody seemed excited. Everyone became quiet when Thor started to speak. “The rules have been settled … you may now step forward”. Freya and Keenan were now standing in the middle of the yard, with about 3 meters to apart them. Keenan was still wearing his heavy armour and now he had a golden shield in his left hand and a sword in his right. Freya was wearing no armour and no weapon. Now Keenan`s friends and Freya`s warriors left the yard. Jane looked towards the 4 young women. They spoke to each other on the unknown language again. The accent was graceful and nothing like anything Jane had ever heard before.  
“If anyone wants to back out … now is the time” Thor proclaimed. When the yard remained silent he spoke once more. “Then you may begin”. Everyone`s eyes was glued to the only two warriors in the yard. Both were standing completely still. Freya was standing with her arms at her sides, and she did not attempt to move. Her eyes were fixed on Keenan as if she could read him like an open book, her face, however, remained unreadable. Keenan raised his shield a little and started to circle, and so did Freya. He was clearly a little confused by her missing weapon, but he was prepared to take advantage of it. They circled around each other. Keenan`s movements was more stiff than Freya`s due to his armour. Freya kept moving around in circles, her movements was confident and like a cat`s. Every step she took left an unspoken threat in the air. She seemed calm, but alert. Her spine was straight and somehow she managed to look more threatening than her fully armed opponent did. Keenan started to move in smaller circles so he slowly walked closer to his opponent from each circle. Freya didn’t move her arms, but Jane noticed her fingers twitching slightly. Keenan was very close now and Freya was still unarmed. Right before Keenan made his first move, Jane noticed a gold light shining in the Queen`s eyes right before she, with an incredibly swift motion spun. The silence broke as two quick “CLANG” `s was echoed in the yard. It was the sound of metal hitting metal. Freya stopped, now more space was made between the two opponents. Keenan, who had been so surprised that he stumbled backwards, was now picking himself up. Freya had left to remarkable deep, parallel cuts in his shield. Now she was armed with two small scythes, used in hand, like the ones on her previously worn armour. The scythes had a light brown handle, which ended in a half circle of gold metal, wide in the end of the handle and later to become more narrow, only to end in a, what looked like, deadly and pointy end. A little smile curled her lips upwards in the left side of her mouth.  
With a scythe in each hand, she made two circular movements with her wrists, which caused the scythes to perform a perfect circle, cutting through air all the way around. Jane did not know if the Goddess needed a better grip, or just saw the opportunity to mock a little. Everybody in the audience could see, on the way her whole appearance showed confidence that she was in total control and balance. She returned to her previous state. Her eyes were still glued on Keenan, but she was now facing him directly, instead of circling around. Still no emotion could be read in the Queen`s eyes or face, she just stood there, like a statue, awaiting.  
Keenan was now angry. He didn’t understand this way of fighting. The whole atmosphere was tense and the audience awaiting the next move. It seemed like Keenan was the one to make the second move, but surprisingly, Freya attacked without warning.  
She smashed her left scythe into Keenan`s shield with the same high metallic sound. Keenan protected himself with his shield and tried to push Freya away with it, but she quickly stepped to the right to avoid it. He was fast, but she was a little faster. Now Keenan attacked with his sword but Freya captured the blade in the curve of her scythe and let the blades slide against each other while moving the blades to the right, exposing Keenan`s armoured chest. A well-coordinated kick in the torso made the Asgardian warrior stumble backwards once again. All the quick movements happening in seconds.


	7. The Cat and the Bull

Keenan`s jaw clenched and he glared angrily at the young Queen. He looked quickly and nervously at the audience and back again to Freya. He was done playing games. It was his time to attack, and he knew just how.   
Freya was awaiting his attack with a serious expression. Now Keenan charged Freya with aggression in every single movement. When his sword tried to strike from above, Freya caught it with the side of her left scythe and swept it aside while taking a step to the right again. But Keenan predicted her move from before, and with a powerful strike of his shield, he swept Freya away. She landed on her back in the dust. Now Keenan made his move to strike downwards with his sword, but Freya rolled around several times, and with movements as graceful as her cats`, she raised herself from the dust. Her hair was thrown all over her shoulders and now she stood with her feet parted and her wide shoulders confirmed her well controlled anger. She looked rather terrifying as she stood there while making the audience breathless with anticipation.   
She was certainly done playing games a well. She repeated her circular movements in her wrist, got a good hold and attacked. Keenan tried to strike her horizontally with the sword, but she ducked under the blade a few centimetres before it would have struck her collarbones.   
Freya quickly raised and took hold of Keenan`s right arm just below the wrist. She was too close for him to gain any protection from his shield. Then she let the curve of her scythe capture Keenan`s left arm around the elbow. She pulled her arm back and the scythe slid down his arm and ripped the shield out of his grasp. The handle on the scythes wasn’t thick enough for Freya to lose her ability to grip. She took hold of Keenan`s right arm with both hands, spun around so Keenan was facing her back and swung him up in a bow over her using her own body as support for the swing. He landed on his back in the dust with the wind blown out of his lungs.   
In the end, the scythes was only a little longer than normal sickles, but the curve was only a little more half circular, the bend on normal sickles was normally wide and formed as an “U”. These weapons looked different. The only reason why Keenan wasn’t cut was the fact that the training weapons were enchanted, so that they couldn’t cut, however they still looked very sharp. Freya of course assured her weapons under the same spell, even though she brought them herself.  
Keenan struggled to breathe after his back collided with the ground. He coughed a couple of times before raising himself up onto his elbows. Freya was standing in a respectably distance away, to give him time to get off the ground. Somehow this was even more embarrassing for him, than if Freya had finished him off and made him surrender on the spot. With even more struggle, Keenan raised and his eyes were never leaving the pacing Goddess in front of him. She finally stood still and looked him dead serious in the eyes. His reputation as a warrior had been damaged and if any emotion was to be read on Freya`s face, it would be just a little, hardly visible, pity.   
It was like Freya could foretell his tricks, his weaknesses and even his next move. Her swift and perfectly coordinated movements made Keenan look slow and too heavy armoured. His many victories was won with raw strength combined with tricks now and then, but swiftness had never been his strong side, neither had patience. He knew about his weaknesses, as did Freya so it would seem, but also was he fully aware of his strong sides.   
Jane was just as spellbound as the rest of the audience and her eyes were glued to the fighting Goddess.   
Now Keenan attacked with raw strength in every movement, and as he did, he forced Freya to take a step back every time he took one forward. Keenan held his shield too close to his body, so Freya couldn’t slip behind it again. He stroke countless times from above and Freya parried every time with the curves in her scythes, but Keenan didn’t let her capture the sword, and swipe it aside like before. He clearly took advantage of his own fighting style, which seemed a little primitive compared to the Goddess`. It could prove effective if the opponent was too shocked or overwhelmed to parry or stop the blows before getting knocked over. Freya didn’t look too shocked or overwhelmed, but she frowned a little in sharp concentration. The distance between Freya and the stone walls of the arena became dangerously smaller each second. Now centimetres from the rail, the Goddess had far less space to move on and she was trapped between an angry bull-like warrior in front of her, and the cold stone almost touching her back.  
In the last second before getting hit from above, Freya jumped to her left and rolled over when she hit the ground. Keenan had made sure that she couldn’t jump to the right with his shield. The sword hit the stone barrier and left a clear mark. The high sound of metal meeting stone was soon followed by the surprised growl from Keenan when Freya managed to kick him on the side of his knee, before he managed to stop her. He sunk on his knees, grabbed some sand from the arena ground and threw it at her. She quickly covered her eyes with her arm and jumped half blinded to the side, when a sword almost hit her shoulder. If you listened well enough you could definitely hear a snort of disgust, from an angry tempered and red haired warrior in the audience.  
Freya`s next move surprised Keenan. She grabbed the top of his shield with the curves of both scythes and dragged it downwards. Keenan responded by trying to hit the Goddess horizontally, but she ducked again. Keenan got his arms out of the straps attached to the shield and when he did, Freya picked it up and her left scythe disappeared in a golden shiny light.   
Freya was now armed with a shield on her left arm and a scythe in her right hand. Keenan looked rather surprised and disappointed, like someone had just taken away his favourite toy.   
Keenan attacked again but Freya parried with both shield and scythe. At last she threw the shield right into the armoured stomach of Keenan. He gasped when he got all air blown out of his lungs yet again. Now the scythe in Freya`s left hand was back, just as quick as it had disappeared. She now trapped Keenan`s blade between two scythes, with the pointy tips pointing in opposite directions, and threw it on the ground.  
Before Keenan could react properly Freya gave him a powerful kick in the guts. He landed heavily on the ground. Freya was standing right beside him, but instead of forcing him to surrender; she slowly offered to help him get off the ground. Keenan`s face was one of utterly surprise, but instead of taking advantage of the noble offer, he tried to quickly pull Freya down in the sand. Freya stopped him by placing the cold metal of Keenan`s own blade against his throat. She pressed a little harder and finally she got the words she had waited for: “I - I surrender” almost hissed Keenan while giving the Goddess a glance full of hate and defeat.


	8. Felines

Freya threw the blade on the ground, looked at Keenan and walked away, like nothing had happened. Behind her, some of Keenan`s comrades got him of the ground. He snarled a loud “get off me!” before walking out of the arena with stiff, tense steps, his comrades looked nervously at each other before following him. Now everyone`s eyes was again fixed on the Goddess, who calmly as ever walked up the few steps, only to see the impressed and surprised faces of Thor, Jane, The Warriors Three and Sif. Freya`s 4 warriors had a knowing expression on their faces. Finally Thor broke the silence with a warm chuckle: “Well the scythes are new” Freya smiled back. “I`ve had plenty of time to practice”. “Why didn`t you finish him off right from the start?” asked Sif, she was very direct, but far too surprised and astonished, “you clearly would have been capable off it”. Freya did not seem to mind though. “My task was only to learn him a little lesson, not to humiliate him in front of everyone … sadly he managed that perfectly fine by himself”. She looked down a moment and continued: “Sword and armour makes you a soldier, but before you become a true warrior you have to learn to fight for others instead of yourself and to always surrender with honour to someone better than you, there`s no shame in that.” She smiled one of her typically small gentle, yet mysterious smiles once again.  
“Well that was one Hel of a fight!” the group turned around and saw Vanlandi and Sveigor walking towards them. Vanlandi was, as usual, enjoying himself together with his more serious brother. “I think we have to train some of our men a little better if we should ever get that outrageous idea to start a war against Folkvangr.” Vanlandi joked and his entire presence lit up the crowd. “Thread with care brother we wouldn’t like to get The Valkyries as enemies” said Sveigor jokingly. It was the first time Jane noticed him speak. His voice was deep and sounded almost like he was growling a little, but beside his massive appearance, he seemed like an honourable man.  
Then something Sveigor had just said caught Jane`s attention. “Valkyries?” she asked and looked from Thor to Freya and then to the crowd of Freya`s 4 warriors. “Sorry how rude of me, you haven’t been properly introduced” Freya said, “normally all children in most of the 9 Realms are told fairy tales of The Valkyries, but I shouldn’t simply have expected everyone to be owner of such knowledge , my mistake”. Vanlandi smiled one of his boyish grins again, as if he just reminded himself of something, but before he could come with a witty comment Freya introduced the first Valkyrie: “This is, as some of you maybe know, Kara, daughter of Greyn”. The red haired woman from before smiled a little shyly, but Freya gave her a reassuring smile to tell her that she wasn’t angry anymore. ”We don’t use formal titles expect for the daughters of former Valkyries” Freya explained. The black haired woman, who Kara had been defending earlier, stepped forward. She shared many similarities with the Vanir in appearance and she seemed like the type, who never judged people before getting the whole story and calm under pressure. “This is Eir daughter of Ygrîttes, or originally Eira. She`s named after your excellent healer here in Asgard”. Jane remembered the healer Eir, who tried her best to heal Jane with a Soul Forge when the Aether possessed her.   
Sveigor sensed his brother`s eagerness to ask, but he was aware of Vanlandi`s infuriating yet not intentional, habit of insulting people by asking very directly, so he asked before Vanlandi opened his quick mouth. “Lady Eir … is it possible that you may have any Vanir ancestors?” he asked carefully. ”As a matter of fact I have,” answered Eir and smiled “it`s not uncommon in Folkvangr to be descended from the old Vanirs” she said and looked at Freya, awaiting something. Every member of the group got the message instantly. “Wait hold on! You are … from Vanaheim?!” Vanlandi looked shocked and widened his eyes to contribute to his little show. “I am, as a matter of fact” Freya answered and smiled at the confused faces of all others, but her Valkyries. Jane did not quite understand how the relatively light Freya could possibly be descended from the dark people called The Vanirs, but she knew this was not the time to ask more questions. Freya was just about to introduce the next Valkyrie, the blonde woman standing in the back of the group  
Now the light haired woman stepped forward. “This is Beyla daughter of Jaerdïn.” Freya introduced. Every name said with an unfamiliar, yet elegant accent with rolls on the tongue. Beyla seemed more restrained than the other Valkyries, more careful. However, she smiled a little when being introduced. She seemed like she always wanted to know, whom she was up against when fighting. She always thought thinks through before acting. Jane noticed her short very light, blonde hair, and her incredibly blue eyes. The Goddess herself had blonde hair too, but in much darker nuances.   
At last, the darker, beautiful woman stepped forward. “This is Trima,” Freya continued, “as some of you may know”. Jane noticed that no name of the mother was mentioned, so Trima`s mother hadn’t been a Valkyrie. Yet she did not seem any less “worth”, than the others did. Her black hair reached a little longer than to her shoulders, and she smiled sincerely. She seemed honest and strong, a certain fierce, but more controlled than Kara.  
“Valkyries, this is Lady Sif, The Warriors Three, Lady Jane and Thor, prince of Asgard, and the princes of Vanaheim, my birthplace, Vanlandi and Sveigor Kylanson” Freya continued. After all the formalities, the group parted a bit. Trima was having a conversation about fighting styles with Vanlandi, in which Kara and Sif contributed eagerly. Vanlandi seemed very keen on asking a lot of questions about Freya`s origin, but he would wait until later. Beyla and Eir returned to the arena, where the training continued. “Where`s Yeelah?” Freya asked Sveigor, “I`ve hardly met her”. “She`s not very interested in fighting, she`s together with other healers, exchanging ideas” Sveigor answered.   
Suddenly the group heard gasping and startled voices. The group quickly turned their heads to see what was going on. It was hard to see anything from the large crowd of people gathered on the terrace, but as if magic was involved, everybody suddenly stepped aside. Through the wide corridor, which was now crowded, walked one of Freya`s great cat`s. Well the right word would probably be incredibly huge panther. It`s back reached to Freya`s hip and the long tail made the slender body seem even longer. Even though the panther’s raven black and smooth fur was a remarkable contrast to Freya`s dark blonde and gold hair, somehow the entire appearance of the huge cat was much alike the Goddess`. Both moved with a natural indescribable grace and control, as both were born to fight.   
The cat walked straight towards Freya, and ended up sitting beside her. The mouth was open and all the sharp white teeth blotted. It did not seem very interested in the audience. Freya reached down and pulled gently at the nape of the big cat. They seemed attached, as if they shared a certain way of understanding things.  
Freya smiled and looked at Thor. “Can I perhaps call upon you later? If you have no other errands to run?” “Yes of course you can” Thor was surprised by Freya`s sudden shift of mood. She seemed more serious, as if something was very wrong, but she was good at hiding it. Freya smiled and Jane noticed the Goddess actually seemed brighter when you knew her a little better. She had become many steps closer to understand Thor`s warmth against the Goddess. “I will see you all at the feast in the afternoon” and with those words she began walking down the corridor of people standing aside for her and the huge cat. They surely was an impressing sight together.


	9. Calm Before the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look who wrote a new chapter ;)

Thor knew that Freya was full of surprises and a new one occurred when the servant, that Freya had sent out for him, turned down one of the oldest corridors of the palace. It was a little corner in a huge palace, and because of that, very few people needed to pass through, and even lesser had duties here. Thor did not know exactly how old it was, but the runes and decorations was still in a good shape. The old parts of the palace contained many rooms, such as old training grounds, a library, and many bedrooms used by royalty back in the days. The problem was that all this was too small for the growing population of Asgard. King Bor, the father of Odin, made sure to add extensions to the palace, when it became too small, or just to gain respect, but these parts were never rebuild neither torn down. Thor remembered that he and Loki used to play hide and seek in the old chambers. His face darkened by the memory of his brother, but still he smiled to himself. He had not been here since he was an infant.   
The servant opened a large wood door and the room behind was full of old dusty books. The library. Freya was standing opposite Thor, beside the door leading to a big balcony with a wonderful view over Asgard and the mountains behind. Thor stepped inside and recognized some of the old carvings on the bookshelves. A large shelf covered the whole wall to his left, but the room continued to his right. Almost endless rows of parallel shelves, that touched the sidewalls in a steep angle, decorated the room until the end wall. No person had taken advantage of the incredible amount of old knowledge hidden on the dusty pages in hundreds of years.   
“Welcome to The Old Library” Freya greeted and stepped forward. The table in front of her was full of old books. She took a sip of the violet wine the servants had brought her.   
“I see you found The Old library useful” Thor commented while looking around “Indeed, Asgard have changed a lot since last time, I wanted to see something recognizable”.  
“I suppose it has”, Thor returned his attention to the Goddess in front of him. “But I know you well enough to know you did not send for me only to talk about old times, a conversation in which I can hardly participate” Thor proclaimed with a smile. “Then you know me far too well Thor Odinson” Freya said with an amused voice. She remained silent a little while before continuing, “But it`s not only the buildings that are different … you’ve changed Thor”. “Well you certainly haven’t” grinned Thor and Freya let out a little laugh. “I think it would surprise you if I had”. They shared a certain way of understanding things; Thor always admired Freya`s honesty and humbleness. She began to walk towards the door, leading to the balcony, and signed Thor to follow.  
“I wanted to speak with you, but you’ve been quite busy it would seem” Freya changed subject. “I wanted to discuss the circumstances of your father’s death” she trotted carefully and her eyes watched Thor carefully, awaiting a reaction. Thor smiled sadly, “I know … I suppose you already have heard all the stories”. “You know me, I don’t listen to gossip. I always make sure to gain information of reliable origin”. The face of the Goddess was emotionless, as she waited patiently.   
“Odin was found in the Council Room by an Einherjer. He had only been dead for minutes. I demanded the Palace on high alert, but the perpetrator was not captured”. Thor`s eyes was glued to the railings of the balcony, his knuckles turning white from grabbing too harshly at the cold stone. He awaited the Goddess to answer or question him, but she did not say a thing, she did not push.   
Thor turned his head to meet the Goddess’ eyes. A dark shade of green as always, with lighter colours and gold around the middle. He read sorrow in them. After taking a deep breath, Thor continued. “However Lady Sif claimed to have seen the perpetrator shortly, before he vanished … She claims to have seen my brother flee from the Council Room”. Thor’s gaze continued to rest beside his hands. “I thought him dead” Freya finally said and looked towards the horizon, in which the sun was setting. “As did we all”, Thor’s expression reflected all the thoughts and sorrows going through his mind. “He fooled us all … even you. You always know everything …see everything. Sometimes before they even happen”. “Sometimes I do, sometimes I do not. I saw you, in Svartalfheim, and yet I was wrong”. They both remained silent as sun lowered on the sky, until it was out of sight.  
“There’s more on your mind, is there not?” Freya broke the silence. Thor’s expression became softer. “I still have no knowledge of how easily you tend to read people’s minds”. “I do not. I only tend to know them well” Freya replied smiling. The atmosphere lit up a bit and Thor continued: “Something is worrying me; my father was murdered with a dagger, a well-known one”. Freya’s eyebrows furrowed, and she started to look thoughtful. Thor only confirmed her thoughts. “It was Loki’s dagger, the one he got from our mother”. Freya looked even deeper in thought when she whispered, “He would not do that,” half talking to herself. “That’s what worries me … maybe some sort of magic was involved … with all your knowledge Freya, do you know how?” Thor was almost begging. When Freya did not answer immediately, he became restless; he removed his hands from the stone rail, and started to pace slowly. “I know spells of disguise, but they are not mastered perfectly by many” she finally replied. Thor turned around to face the Goddess once again, his shoulders hanging. He looked at least a thousand years older, even in the dim light surrounding them, tired and devastated. “We will find out who did this, I promise” Freya comforted, pronouncing every word with a hidden, burning anger, but Thor’s eyes still missed its natural light. “That is indeed a dangerous promise; whoever wielded the dagger is not likely to come back”. “Maybe not, but they cannot hide in the shadows for long” Freya picked up the round glass, which had rested on the rail, and took a sip. She started to tap her fingers lightly against it. The small motion caught Thor’s attention. “That’s not all you wanted to talk about is it?” Thor asked, quite pleased about finally being the knowing one. She turned her head in surprise, “Now who’s reading who?” The God of Thunder’s face lit up in a knowing smile. “You never drink wine, except when you participate in a feast.” With a little nod he gestured towards the wineglass, “and sometimes not even then”. Freya lifted one eyebrow at his comment, “well you have certainly been paying attention!” She said jokingly, Thor grinned, the widest grin in months it would seem, and started to explain: “As an infant I admired you greatly … still do. When my family and I visited you, my brother and I tended to watch your every move. We wanted to be just like you”. “Be careful what you wish for … But you are right” Freya snapped out of the joyful thoughts of old days and was now back to wearing all of her emotionless mental armour.   
“As you just pointed out, I can sometimes sense certain things … things that no one else can”. Thor waited patiently. After looking Thor in the eyes, Freya turned her attention towards the horizon with the setting sun. “Some months ago I started feeling certain … presence”. Freya tried to explain, “I did not think it important at first but … it did not go away”. Now Thor furrowed his brows, but he continued listening. “I do not know what or who, but it is closing in.” Freya paused and scanned Thor’s expression before continuing. “It is hiding in the shadows, unseen by many, and when it comes, and it will, it will come for all of us”. Thor’s expression hardened and he nodded; he knew that if this matter forced Freya to come to Asgard, it should be taken seriously. “I’ll double the guard force; every path to the Palace will be watched day and night. But it should be done so discretely, we have thousands of guests and I see no reason to scare people or cause any kind of panic”. Freya agreed. “I know you have more than enough to deal with … If I can take some of that weight off your shoulders then do not hesitate to call for me”. Thor nodded “Thank you”   
Freya turned around to leave, but just before she stepped out entirely she spoke once more: "I do not intend to stick my nose into matters past my understanding..." She paused still with her back facing the listening God of Thunder. "But she worries about you. She's very intelligent that mortal. Let her help ease the burdens that lies so heavily upon your shoulders". Thor stood frozen for a long time after being left alone. He has tried to shield Jane from most of the serious matters he was forced to attend to, but maybe Freya was right? Maybe he was underestimating Jane?


	10. Quite the Garthering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Valkyries join a true Asgardian fiest! Some long-to-be-answered questions are answered.

As the sun was set, the palace was bursting with life. The guests from all the visiting realms was gathered in one enormous hall, eating and drinking. Outbursts of laughter could be heard throughout the golden hall as well as the rest of the palace. Eir had left the training grounds a bit earlier than her Valkyrie sisters had, and therefore when she showed up as the first of the mysterious foreigners, in her deep green tunic with dark trousers and silver jewelry beneath the loose hanging raven black hair, she achieved several admiring glances from all the races of the room. Eir smiled kindly to a dwarf warrior as he passed her, before locating Sif and Volgstagg sitting at a table waving. "Greetings Lady Eir! You will clearly be the first Valkyrie to join us for the feast tonight," Volgstagg proclaimed cheerily. "You seem to be right Volgstagg, but hopefully I will not be the last" Eir answered and smiled brightly greeting both of the Warriors before taking a seat at the other side of the table. Volgstagg downed the last of his mead and while a servant refilled his mug from a barrel, the conversation went on. The smell of roasted meat mixed with the scent of wooden tables, chairs, and barrels filled the room, and for Eir it felt almost like home. The gatherings in Folkvangr was quieter indeed, but also less lively. She had never been outside of the five outer realms; actually she hadn't even been in all of them. The fire realm was ... Special ... In many ways. Underdeveloped and, at times, not safe. 

Her line of thoughts were interrupted when Volgstagg cheered loudly but before Eir got the time to see who could draw such a cheerful outburst from the half-drunk warrior, Kara placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "Surely you did not believe you would harvest all the admiring glances from all the 9-realmers alone!" She outbursted jokingly before grabbing a mug of mead and almost downing it in one try. "I was beginning to get worried about you! You never miss a feast. According to you mead can be drunk during the sword fight itself!" Eir responded cockily. Everyone at the table broke out laughing when seeing Kara attempt to laugh and drink at the same time. Kara's direct personality had cast a shadow in which another of her sisters was standing. The light haired Valkyrie Beyla was hard to notice behind Kara but she was present and when the table had calmed down a bit she proceeded to greet everyone, though less loud than her companion. Her short blonde hair was a contrast to the light blue feathers she had braided into the short strands on the left side of her face. Her tunic matched both eyes and feathers, though it was of lighter material than Eir's and flowed from her shoulders and hips like water from a waterfall. The thick belt around her waist was almost the fair color of her hair, and so was the trousers she was wearing beneath the half-transparent waterfall of her tunic. Her gracefulness was simple and elegant. Kara's choice of clothing was rawer. Her trousers were almost black with gold stitching of the Valkyrian symbol of two wings neatly folded, one on each leg. She wore a long blouse in dark blue instead of a tunic. Her red wild curls almost covered the starting of the golden plates sewn upon the shirt, starting at the neck and shoulders and continuing down her arm to the wrist. The Valkyries were all sisters from the moment they all had passed the training tests, but as they sat and stood so close it was visible to even the blind eye how very different each of them were from the other, yet they were bound tightly together as warriors, friends and sisters.   
The newcomers had hardly sat down on each side of Eir before a voice light by mischief caught the attention of the entire company. "It is said that a man blessed by a kiss from a Valkyrie cannot be slain in battle!" Vanlandi proclaimed proudly "but has that theory ever been put to a test I wonder?" He proceeded to place a hand under his chin and furrow his brows to look deep in thought. When he knew, he had everyone's attention he winked at Beyla who simply lifted an eyebrow at his far too obvious goal. Behind the amused prince stood his bigger brother Sveigor. Eir noticed that she had never seen them apart. They were always close together. Kara, who also lived for the change to give a show, answered quickly "well nobody survived long enough to get to the actual kiss" while pretending to study her nails carelessly. This made Vanlandi, and even his colder brother, smile before both joined the Warriors at the, now very full, table. Sveigor sitting next to Kara and his amused brother beside Sif. But Vanlandi, as the determined charmer he was, wasn't finished with his questions. "So ... No wings I see?" By that he asked the question that every other non-Valkyrian warrior at the table was dying to know the answer to. Now everyone's attention was upon the three Valkyries. "Well you are quite the observer my prince" Kara said jokingly, she clearly intended to keep them on the edge of their chairs for far longer than necessary but Eir ruined that. "We are not born with them. They are given to us at a ceremony if we pass the required tests". Volgstagg, who had a hard time not bursting out countless questions, quietly asked "but they are clearly not made of any kind of metal..." "No they are not," answered Beyla surprisingly taking part in the conversation, making Vanlandi smirk silently "They are real wings, but not in the beginning. They are elements of magic that we must learn to control. Our Queen teaches us and as time goes the wings will become a part of us, just like an arm or a leg." Kara seemed disappointed by giving the answer away so quickly but she finally took part in the explanation "but they are created by magic and by magic they can disappear ... And they can be big and unpractical to just walk around with" she said while trying to sound careless yet again. "It is also the same magic Freya used in the battle against Keenan" an evil smirk appeared on her face as she thought of the humiliation the warrior went through earlier. The company was slowly digesting the new information when the last of Freya's Valkyrie group appeared. Trima spotted Kara's violently red hair in the masses and she soon joined. They made quite a gathering around that table. Two of the Prince's most trusted friends, 4 living legends most known from tales and the princes of Vanaheim. Many of the guests had caught themselves starring quite a few times. Trima seated herself next to Volgstagg and opposite Beyla. "It appears that I am terribly late," she said with an apologizing smile. "Oh no you come just in time! We only just started on the interesting questions!" Vanlandi loudly proclaimed. "And now that they are all assembled we might finally get some answers out of them!" remarked Sif jokingly. The Valkyries shared glances and smiled. "Not quite" answered Trima "the fifth part of our usual company stayed at home to reign while we travelled, normally we are five in total without counting Freya". "Herja would love Asgard..." Beyla proclaimed. "Yeah but she would certainly not say it aloud" mumbled Kara hardly audible gaining an elbow to the side and a hard glance from Eir.  
The conversation was harshly interrupted when Hogun and Fandral came marching through the crowd with the word "serious" painted upon all their features. "Greetings friends" started Fandral "I'm afraid we won't be able to keep you company on this fine evening." He then continued only addressing the Asgardians of the table "Sif ... The prince and the Head of Guards has asked for your help with the new guard plans, as for you Volgstagg". The warriors raised quickly as to not let Thor and Tyr wait too long. "Is something wrong?" Asked Sveigor gravely. Fandral studied the faces of the Valkyries and Eir responded with a nod, they already knew about Freya's warning. "Not at present but ... The Queen of the Valkyries seems to know something the rest of us do not" responded Fandral. "Send for us if we might be of any assistance" said Trima, she received a thankful nod in response from Hogun.   
They all went their own ways after that. Yeelah wanted to introduce Sveigor and Vanlandi to the Elven healers and the Valkyries retired peacefully, but not before Vanlandi had smiled one last time in Beylas direction. Which made Kara whisper to Sveigor drawing a small smile from the warrior: "He will have a hard time with that one".


End file.
